âYouâre too serious, Second Patriarch. Your return to the council hall was the wish of the masses,â Lin Jie calmly said.
âIf I may be blunt, our clan is facing a grave situation. It isnât the time for internal conflict, but for everyone to work together. We need to find the two killers and maintain the clanâs stability,â Lin Changkong said.
âMaintain? The only reason weâre in this situation is because we didnât ally with the ebons yet! Why would Tianxi be here to avenge his younger brother otherwise?â Lin Ziqing sneered.
âAvenge? You overestimate the purity of Tianxiâs feelings. Heâs here for Fengâerâs treasure from the ancestral world. Clearly, the ebons and the alien monster think itâs a good item,â Lin Xiao said.
âHas the second patriarch researched it yet?â Lin Jie asked.
âWe havenât made any headway yet.â
âAlright then, if it really does turn out to be something good, itâll broaden all our horizons,â Lin Jie said.
âLin Feng was cultivated by our Swordgod Lin Clan, so whatever he obtained belongs to the clan. We should see if it can be used on the whole clan,â Lin Ziqing added.
âGet lost, you shameless woman. Whoâd you cultivate? By the way, werenât you and Lin Yun supposed to be kneeling in front of the Myriadsword Mausoleum as repentance for your actions? Go back! A few days should test how hard your backbone is.â Lin Xiong was unable to hold back his fury.
âBig talk. When you annoy the ebons, letâs see how you die! My stance remainsâwe challenge the ebons at our own peril. Theyâre our only way out. Our goal isnât to suffer on the verge of death, but to kill Yi Daiyan and retrieve our Ancestral Swordheart! Thatâs the only thing that would truly please the ancestors.â
âKill her? Who, you?â Lin Xiong burst out laughing.
âStop arguing,â Lin Jie said. He looked behind the council hall. âYou moved Lin Fengâs group here?â
Lin Xiao nodded.
âIt is safer here. Remember to not let them run around.â
âDo you think Tianxi will appear?â Lin Xiao suddenly asked.
âI donât know.â
âDonât you have his transmission stone? Just ask.â
âI already tried, but he didnât respond,â Lin Jie replied.
âJust keep asking until he replies then.â
âI just fear weâll bother him if heâs actually far away.â Lin Jie chuckled.
â¦â¦
âSeems like those idiots canât let go of the ebons.â Tianming could tell that they were definitely displeased to lose control of the Lin Clan. Both sides had their own convictions, but Tianming would side with his grandparents.
This time, Lin Jie and the rest could only admit defeat.
âYin Chen, full surveillance on those seven, especially Lin Yun and Lin Jie.â
âNo shit!â After becoming half an astral god, Yin Chenâs concealment ability had improved until it could literally be right next to Lin Jie and the rest and wouldnât be noticed. Still, some small formations were quite airtight, and getting past them would get the invisible bugs noticed. Still, its surveillance ability was frightening.
âTell Grandfather as soon as they contact Tianxi or the alien monster.â
âI understand!â
Tianming sank into thought. âLin Jie isnât someone whoâll easily accept defeat. And he now knows my Order Relic is important to the ebons. Thus, he might use me as an offering to win their support. The Lin Clanâs fixed now, so if he wants to work with the ebons, heâll have to kill the council members on Grandfatherâs side. Thatâs how he can ignore the people's feelings.â
The possibility had to be guarded against. He quickly shared his conjecture with Lin Xiao and the rest.
They were quiet for a while.
âI hope not. If that happens, the Lin Clanâs convictions and unity would really have ended after countless generations.â
âBlergh.â
They were the ones that didnât want internal conflict the most.
âIf that happens, the only way to reset would be to excise the tumor.â Lin Changkong grit his teeth; his stance had become firmer.
Lin Xiao walked into the council hall and looked at Kuâs memorial tablet. He simply looked at it without a word for a very long time.
âBig Brother, this responsibility you left me is really suffocating. I really wish you couldâve lived another thousand years.â Alas, the limit of lifespan was merciless.
â¦â¦
A month soon passed. Tianxi hadnât accepted, nor had the alien monster appeared.
It was the most dangerous situation for Tianmingâs side. It meant he didnât wish for a peaceful negotiation, but was firm on killing Tianming for his treasure. As for the alien monster, it remained skulking in the shadows and leaving everyone on edge.
Lin Xiao hadnât produced any evidence for Tianxi and the alien monsterâs presences in the Infinitum Swordsea, leading to a never-ending argument in the council hall.
The long period of lockdown also created many inconveniences. Some Lin Clan disciples were starting to wonder if the alien monster really existed. A month wasnât that long, but it was easy to imagine what would happen if the inconvenience carried on.
Tianming himself didnât enjoy wasting the month. It was his critical juncture and without the reges mundi caeli, it would be hard for him to become an astral god. With the bee-headed caeli, though, his cultivation conditions were actually at the top of Ebonia and he could still become an astral god within ten years. However, he didnât want to wait that long! Who knows how Ebonia would be then?
Tianming was quite anxious to be trapped without access to the Caeli Vault level or Swordsoul Purgatory. Tianxi and the alien monster knew he was in a safe location now, so it was a test of patience. Whoever ran out of it first would lose!
âCultivationâs never been something that could be rushed anyway,â Xiaoxiao said.
âIâll smack you!â Tianming pushed her down and began thwacking her.
âCareful, Iâll be an astral god in the next few days.â Xiaoxiao grit her teeth.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIâve killed astral gods.â He pinched her cheek.
Without anything else to do, he decided to go to the wondersky realm. âI havenât seen godfather for a while. I wonder how my friends and family on the sun are doing? I could also go to the Skydome Battlefield. Maybe I can meet some important people from the Mysterium Cluster so I can see the wonderiansâ reaction to Etherean Zhaohuaâs death and figure out their stance on Little Fishâs situation.â